Pat McEnaney: 'Let’s not make up our minds before we see them in competitive action'

A number of rule changes are being trialled with Pat McEnaney intrigued to see a number of them in action.

Wed, 02 Oct, 2024 - 06:38

John Fogarty

Four-time All-Ireland SFC final referee Pat McEnaney has called on the Gaelic football fraternity to get behind the Football Review Committee (FRC).

The Monaghan man is firmly backing a number of the disciplinary rule changes that the FRC are considering putting forward.

Several of them will be seen for the first time on October 19 and 20 in specially-sanctioned interprovincial games in Croke Park to be televised live on TG4 and RTÉ. McEnaney hopes followers of the game will keep an open mind to what is on show such as the four-point goal and two points for kicked scores outside a 40-metre arc.

“I’m not bit concerned about any rule change,” says the Corduff man. “Having sat on several committees and been involved in rule changes down through the years, my advice is to have a look at them.

“People have gone to awful lengths to get opinions. They have organised matches even though they have been all nicey-nice and it won’t be until you see the rules in the heat of the National League that you’ll know how they’re going.

“Some people don’t like change, no matter what walk of life it’s in, but this is one of the easiest opportunities to change rules because there is an appetite to improve the game. Let’s give the committee the opportunity to implement what they think is going to help Gaelic football.

“I have my own thoughts. For example, I think the forward mark needs to go. The midfield mark was quite good but the forward mark takes away from the game.

But let’s stopping saying ‘no’. Let’s not make up our minds before we see them in competitive action.”

McEnaney wasn’t able to attend the latest FRC trial game in Inniskeen this past weekend, which was refereed by inter-county official Martin McNally. But he likes the idea of the black card being extended to cover the “choke” tackle.

“Coaches will find a way around that but no harm in having it there. People tend to forget the body collide has all but gone out of the game. The black card got rid of that.

“Cynical fouls still happen and I was refereeing a game last week in the senior championship in Monaghan and I black carded a fella for deliberate pulldown. But the body colliding and checking had been a blight on our game and the black card sorted it.”

McEnaney is all for the ball being brought forward by 50m for dissent. “It’s a brilliant idea. Your coaches will have their players well warned before they leave the dressing rooms because that’s a major punishment.

“One I would like to have seen introduced was a punishment for a team who were late out for the second half with a 45 to the other team. Go over 15 minutes and you give the kick to the opposition. It would never need to be applied after a couple of times because teams would have the cop-on not to chance it again.”

McEnaney experienced the clock/hooter refereeing International Rules games and doesn’t see it being a problem. “I have no issue with it. It takes some responsibility off the referee and it’s another pressure point gone.”

As national referees development committee chairman from 2012 to ‘15 when the first FRC under the chairmanship of the late Eugene McGee were putting forward proposals such as the black card, McEnaney was keen for referees to adopt a zero-tolerance approach to head high challenges. The Gavin-led body now want to see head-to-head collisions made sending off (Category II) offences.

It's a proposal McEnaney supports but he believes high challenges have reduced considerably. “There hasn’t been that many serious incidents in recent years. One of the big collisions that took place was John Small’s (v Eoghan McLaughlin, 2021 All-Ireland semi-final) a few years ago. At the time, it looked like a clean hit but you could then see it was a cleanout tackle. In all fairness, the referees have been tougher on anything around the neck area.”